Five Ways to Make Retail Personal: That’s Your Secret Weapon Free White Paper

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Description

I recently gave a talk at NRF Retail’s BIG Show 2017 in a presentation entitled “Make Retail Personal: That’s Your Secret Weapon” during the Small Business Experience program, sponsored by American Express.  Joining me at the podium was Brent Ridge, of Beekman Boys fame, who provided the voice of the small business entrepreneur as co-founder of Beekman 1802, along with his partner Josh Kilmer-Purcell.  For those who could not attend, I thought to share highlights of our talk.

In planning our session, we were guided by a survey from American Express that found growth is the No. 1 focus for small businesses – And that means marketing.  While technology is a given, Brent and I share a common belief that the real power of marketing a small business comes through the personal experiences it, and it alone, is powered to deliver.  That is small businesses’ secret weapon.

Traditional marketing has been disrupted

Without a doubt, traditional marketing practices founded on the 4Ps model of marketing – Product, Place, Price and Promotion – is no longer working like it used to. That is because marketing has been disrupted, not by technology and internet ‘disrupters,’ but because the needs, priorities and most importantly the mindset of shoppers has changed.  Marketing must evolve from the traditional 4Ps into the 4Es framework described by Brian Fetherstonhaugh of Ogilvy & Mather.

  • Experience replaces Product – Product is no longer king! Today the shopper experience seals the deal.
  • Place becomes Everyplace – Retailers cry out for limited, exclusive product, but that only sets up a conflict between product suppliers and the product sellers. Product is available everyplace, so retailers need to make sure every shopper touchpoint communicates the retailers’ special experiential message.
  • Price is now Exchange –The old idea of “Price it low, watch it go,” has become a race to the bottom. But the winner of that race ultimately loses. Today shoppers want to understand the value they get in exchange for their attention and their spending.
  • Promotion evolves to Evangelism – Old promotion is ‘In-your-face,’ push promotion, which only interrupts and irritates shoppers.  Evangelism is about pull marketing, enticing shoppers in with word of mouth and other curiosity-building techniques.

Today success in retail is less about WHAT you sell and more about HOW you sell it

Maya Angelou famously said, “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel,” and that is the power of personal retailing.  You are invited to learn more about Beekman 1802 and 16 other specialty retailers that have mastered personal retailing in my book, Shops that POP! 7 Steps to Extraordinary Retail Success, packed with actionable ideas and strategies to create those personal experiences in your store and make it POP!

Download this white paper to learn five easy ways to make retail personal.

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